Spain

The Spanish Agency for International Co-operation (AECI) is an autonomous entity ascribed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Office of the Secretary of State for International Co-operation and Latin-America (SECIPI) in charge of the management of the Spanish International Co-operation for development policy, in co-ordination with other Ministries.

Spanish International Co-operation for Development policy falls under Law 29/1998 which establishes its sectorial and geographical priorities and the instruments to be used in order to determine strategies and actions oriented to the promotion of human, social and economic sustainable development to contribute to poverty eradication in the world.

Under Law 29/1998 and the Master Plan of Spanish Co-operation, Egypt, with the Arab countries of Northern Africa and the Middle East region, is considered a “priority country” and, therefore target of preferential action. Within Spanish International Co-operation for development, Egypt is placed as the 7^th country in the Magreb and Middle East, and the 2^nd in Middle East after the Palestinian Territories in grants non-refundable reception.

General Forms of Co-operation imply the use of two main instruments:

• Technical Co-operation: through projects (considered as non-reimbursable co-operation with specific objectives) and Programmes (co-operation from all sources with general and broader objectives).
  
• Economical and Financial Co-operation.

During the year 2002 formulation of objectives of Spain’s development co-operation with Egypt was completed. Priority will be accorded to the following sectors: agriculture, cattle, food safety, industry (with special focus on SME’s), sea and rail transports, and environment.

Important milestones in 2002 have been:

• The approval of AECI’s regional plan for the Magreb and the Middle East for 2003-2004.
  
• The implementation of the first phase of the Egyptian-Spanish fund for micro finances for €12 million.
  
• The conclusion of the first phases (1999-2002) of two Programmes with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation:
  
  • Experimental olive oil plantation in Al- Fayoum.
    
  • Cattle Artificial Insemination Programme in five Governorates in Upper Egypt.
    

Status of Ongoing Projects

Scholarships
Commitment: €227,742
Total Disbursement: €227,742
Beneficiary: Post-graduate students
Objectives: Through Scholarships of up to two years duration, improve post-graduate formation of Egyptian students in areas related to the development priorities of its country. Partially, grants are devoted to Spanish teachers in Egyptian Universities or Hispanic researchers from Egypt.

Lectorates in the Spanish Departments of Egyptian Universities (Foreign Languages Departments)
Commitment: €115,034
Total Disbursement: €115,034
Beneficiary: Students in the Spanish Departments of the Universities of Cairo, Al-Azhar, Ain Shams and Minya University.
Objectives: Support the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language and the Departments of Spanish in the Egyptian Universities.

Cultural and Education Support
Commitment: €60,101
Total Disbursement: €60,101
Beneficiary: Egyptian General Public, Ministry of Culture and its Agencies (Fine Arts sector, International Relations Department of the Ministry)
Objectives: Promotion of mutual knowledge through artistic and cultural events. sParticipation of Spanish artists or pieces in exhibitions and international festivals in Egypt.

Cattle Artificial Insemination Programme
Commitment: €1.043,828 (1999-2002)
Total Disbursement: €991,833
Beneficiary: Small proprietors of cattle in the Governorates of Minya, Sohag, Assiout, Qena and Luxor.
Objectives: Promote and develop the insemination technique in cattle, improve the quality of Egyptian bovine livestock including the Brown Swiss breed, boost income of small livestock farmers improving production indexes, strengthen the existing production operations and distribution networks in the Governorates of Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Qena and Luxor. Train and build skills of project staff, hygienic control and health quality of the semen doses produced with the upgrading of the Seminal Doses Production Centre, and create a database and control systems.

Modernisation of the Production of Olive Oil Based on a Demonstration Farm in Al Fayoum
Commitment: €905,079 (1999-2002)
Total Disbursement: €905,079
Beneficiary: Olive oil farmers in the area of Al-Fayoum.
Objectives: Modernisation of the olive oil sector in Egypt, through setting up installations and equipment needed for the utilisation of the demonstration farm, Kom Oshim, in Al-Fayoum; setting up an olive oil mill with a capacity of 1.5 tons per hour as an experimental one; training staff in Spain and in Egypt through training courses on olive cultivation and oil techniques, and providing Spanish technical advice to the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.

Maintenance Plan for Abou Ghates Railway Workshop
Commitment: €210,354
Total Disbursement: €210,354
Beneficiaries: Egyptian National Railways (ENR)
Objectives: Design and implementation of a work plan for the workshop of Abou Ghates mainly in safety areas through maintenance of coaches and locomotives.

Egyptian-Spanish Fund for Micro Finances
Commitment: €12 million
Total Disbursement: €360,000 - first disbursement December 2002
Beneficiaries: Small enterprises.
Objectives: The main beneficiaries of this credit line will be the Egyptian micro entrepreneurs whose maximum sales volume is 500 US$/month, with an upper limit of 5 employees, focusing mainly on Upper Egypt, especially for the processing and production of goods in the field of agro -food. The average loan amount offered to interested entrepreneurs will be around 1,200 US$, with a maximum of 3,000 US$ (€1,208 - €3,020).The overall objective of the project is to reach financially those micro business enterprises which otherwise would have a difficult access to bank crediting, in order to develop and improve their production.

Executive Plan for the Setting up of an Electronic Commerce Platform for the Logistic Community in Alexandria
Commitment: €248,000
Total Disbursement: €248,000
Beneficiaries: Ministry of Transport
Objectives: The project aims at the implementation of the required activities for an Electronic Commerce Platform for the Logistic Community of Alexandria (design of a working plan, creation of a Telematic Forum, re-engineering of customs processes, technology transfer and advice agreements, software adaptation, development of services defined by the Telematic Forum, setting up of the managing company of the Electronic Commerce Platform).

Design and Implementation of a Technology Transfer Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises of the Agro-Food Sector in Egypt (Phase I)
Commitment: €179,733 (2002)
Total Disbursement: €179,733
Beneficiaries: Ministry of Industry and Technological Development and SME’s of Agro-food sector.
Objectives: Establishment of a Technological Centre to provide services, consultancy and assistance in technological upgrading of Egyptian SME’s.

Assayer Programme Courses
Commitment: €75,416
Total Disbursement: €75,416
Beneficiaries: Public Servants of different competent Ministries in Environmental matters. Researchers.
Objectives: Assayer is the Mediterranean Regional Programme of AECI devoted to environmental management. Through short term seminars, capacity building and information exchange courses, the objective is to improve formation in environmental topics (water management, energy diversification Programmes, protected areas management, Local Agenda XXI)

Restoration of Abu Sirga Church
Commitment: €118,796
Total Disbursement: €118,796
Beneficiaries: Coptic Church of Abu Sirga. Workers in the restoration works.
Objectives: Restoration of the paintings, icons and consolidation of the church crypt. Considered one of the places where the Holy Family stayed in Egypt.

Multisector Formation – Co-operation with International Organisations and EUs
Commitment: €185,525
Total Disbursement: €185,525
Beneficiaries: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Development Programme (regional) and European Union (EU Expert-Tradeand Commerce)
Objectives: Support to the Institutions and the Spanish participation.